commenting on and exposing the inhumane carriage horse industry in NYC. Contact us at coalition@banhdc.org

Saturday, July 28, 2012

A FLY ON THE WALL

The inner workings of the {{{{ brains }}}} of the NYC carriage drivers
and their supporters.

A playbook for a pro carriage horse
trade campaign

famous controversial driver giving the finger to activists

The NYC carriage trade was recently shaken up by a scandal
involving a driver yelling homophobic, racist and sexist remarks to activists
who were handing out literature against the carriage trade – it was captured on
YouTube and in themedia.

Instead of taking total responsibility for this outrage, the
carriage trade went on the defensive,essentially saying that the activists deserved this because the driver
was provoked.They got someone at
Rupert Murdoch’s NY Post to write a piece against the activists - again missing the point.

But they never took responsibility for their bad
behavior.

Entering into the drama is Chronicles of the Horse or COTH, an open forum in
which many carriage trade supporters participate.The thread referenced here is calledHeadsup---What will happen to the NY carriage horses?This link comes through on Google Alerts
for all to see.

The discussion quickly morphed into “what does one do with
these awful people; these RARAS (radical animal rights activists); these
extremists?”

horse very close to taxi in heavy traffic

Like the bullies they are, all of these COTH folks hide
behind their true identities with made up screen names, making outrageous accusations about us; telling
lie after lie that they want desperately to believe.They listen to the NYC Carriage Queen, (screen name) MichaleenFlynn, who
gives them their marching orders with the current threat that NYC activists are targeting the entire world. We want to put an end to all working animals and rid the world of all animals, including cats and dogs. For the record -- the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriage is opposed to urban carriage horse businesses - like NYC, Rome, Atlanta, Charleston, Savannah - and so on. This is our campaign. Period.

They delight in calling us “fanatics, rabid animal rights
extremists, nut jobs, fruit bats and loons“They say things like “They're fanatics. There's little difference
between them and people who fly planes into buildings.They walk a fine line between activist and
terrorist.”

This is the extent of their
argument.It is never substantive. They only deal with
hyperbole.

All of the comments below are copied and pasted from this forum.

One of the participants, LauraKYfrom Kentucky, said about the carriage association’s stance on this
incidence, “BTW, when an apology is
followed by but or however, it's not an apology. You guys really need to work
on your PR. You should have thrown him under the bus.”

Sounds reasonable? Well we’ll get back to Laura in a minute.She is preparing the playbook.But in the meantime, these COTH members
really believe the trade does not have the money to hire PR consultants.The truth is that the carriage tradespends thousands on lobbyists each year and
has hired PR consultants in the past.They have money.Believe
it.They are a cash only business.

Lynwood, another participant, actually believes this: “The horses are available for 24 hr inspection by the ASPCA ,
the Department of Parks , and the other multiple agencies that over see them.”

Huh – not in my New York City.The ASPCA is volunteer only and has only 14 agents for all of NYC and state. The laws are either badly enforced or are
inadequate.24 hours?Yes perhaps in her imagination. .

And this in response to criticism that activists use video cameras … “ …the drivers are not filming because they are DRIVING. They are
attempting to make a living around a group of close minded people hurtling
insults and badgering their business away using false words like
"abuse". "

News flash to Lynwood -- the drivers not only film but read
and text while driving.The Department of Health tried to stop this in 2010 with new
proposed regulations.The carriage trade
intervened and the regulations were rescinded.

And back to LauraKY who gives PR tips for the world to
see.My favorite is this one.

“And while they're doing that they need to
dig up any piece of dirt on the RARAs they can and make sure it gets
publicity...make it personal, I'm talking about dirt on individuals, you want
to discredit them...without letting them know they are behind it. Take a look
at politics, that's all this is. That's how it's done. Pure negative
campaigning rarely wins in the end.”

Really nasty stuff there, Ms. Laura.This tells us a lot about you and the carriage trade.This iswhy the world is in the state it's in.

AlternetRealitysaysabout the drivers “They
are threatened with sabotage and poison. Their homes are at risk, their families have been
threatened by raras, and yet they have some of the best cared-for, nicest
horses in the world, doing a job with horses in a city built by horses,
carrying forward a tradition and trade over 5000 years old.

Frankly, if someone sat there berating me with lies,
insults, and threats for as long they have, and using lies to smear my name and
my career, I'd have lost my temper years ago and probably started swinging
fists over it.”

Holy Molys, Alternet – you really are in an altered
reality.Threats of sabotage?; threats
of poison?…Invectives and comments - yes – but in response to the drivers' nasty words
– but never threats.And if you think for
a minute that the carriage drivers do not do much of the provoking, then your
choice of a screen name is quite accurate.5,000 years? Are you kidding? Before Christ? The carriage tourist trade only goes back to the late 1940s in NYC. Asfor the best cared for
horses?I would not be so quick to say
that.You are not here to witness the
accidents – many of which are captured by random eyewitnesses; or the
brutal force some of the drivers use on their horses when they pull them by the
bit, or the fact that many get sent to auction or otherwise “disappear;” or the
fact that many of the drivers violate the law by overloading and working when
it is over 90 degrees.

Then Goneriding 24escalated this thread by saying“Why isn't threatening murder and hurting families not hate speech? “Threatening murder?!Is she mad??Who is threatening murder?!Good grief.These people have a bizarre imagination.

Not to be left out of providing scenarios for PR, Alternet
also suggested this: “...hire two
actors (dressed as seniors from out of town...or on their honeymoon) and make
sure one of the RaRa's who is hurling insults at them is close enough for a
senior (the old gal) to take a swipe with her purse...make sure you have your
cameras ready...THAT will make the news...and give it another kick start. You want a u tube to go viral...against the rara's."

Some people have suggested that if I expose this, they will go undercover and we will no longer be able to witness their lunacy. Whatever. We know what they are like.

2 comments:

Anonymous
said...

I've been a graphic artist artist for about 7 years now. I'm pretty a novice to managing a blog and came upon your blog post while searching for design blog sites. I've got to point out just how empowered I am with all your useful resources along with the complete high quality of your blog. I'm hoping I can build a blog site similar to your own and will pay attention to your blog posts with great eagerness.Thanks heaps for the ideas mate.Also visit my site :: australian artists art